Tribune Tower

Bricks from Wrigley Field and old Comiskey Park this week will be added to the limestone facade of Tribune Tower, bringing to 150 the number of artifacts embedded in the building’s exterior, according to an announcement Monday.

They’ll join fragments of historic sites from all 50 states and around the world — from the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal to Westminster Abbey and the Great Pyramid of Egypt — adorning the neo-Gothic landmark at 435 North Michigan Avenue. Another treasure from the Cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem appears on an interior wall inside the lobby.

Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, began the practice of decorating Tribune Tower with artifacts brought back by his reporters from around the world in the 1920s and '30s. (Don't ask how they got them.)

A brief dedication ceremony will be broadcast live at 11:30 a.m. Friday on Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720, hosted by Bob Sirott. On hand will be Crane Kenney, Cubs president of business operations, and Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox chairman.

Among the most recent additions to the exterior were tiles from the Sydney Opera House and a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.